


The Bird and The Cage

by Martengapop



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Arguing, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Rated M Just To Be Safe, Reyux, Slow Build, and rey's the wise prolly because she spends too much time with luke, in which hux is also human, prisoner rey, thought it may go up in future chapters idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-06 00:36:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11024895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Martengapop/pseuds/Martengapop
Summary: When Rey was taken as a prisoner onboard the Finalizer, she discovered that there was more than meets the eye in her supposed to be temporary captor.





	The Bird and The Cage

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya, welcome to my first Star Wars story ever! I never thought I'd be writing a Reyux story, but here I am hopping on board the ship like crazy. 
> 
> There's not much to tell here except this story is like widely inspired by this amazing Reyux story called The Ties that Bind, the Ties That Break by ElizaDarling (If you're a Reyux fan, I'm sure you've read that story before), so here's a cheer for you! (Seriously, I legit cried reading the ending).
> 
> I've to apologize in advance if the plot seems ick, or the characters like ooc and errors scattering throughout the whole story.
> 
> Finally, you all know the drill; if you like it, leave a review, if you don't, leave a review.

**_“Stone walls do not a prison make,_ **  
**_Nor iron bars a cage.”_ **  
  
**_― Richard Lovelace_**

* * *

 

Rey had always hated the cold. Growing up in Jakku where the sun did nothing but berate her skin here and there, it was only apparent that she and the temperature wouldn’t get along nicely in a long haul.

She hated how cold it felt back at D’Qar, the morning rain routine that turned the entire place wet and humid or the ever chilly sigh of the wind that sent her feet curling, she hated how it felt even _colder_ when she had been at Starkiller Base, how the snow made her skin wrinkle and her teeth wouldn’t stop clattering even after she’d gotten back to the Falcon. She hated them all.

But now this, _this_ was the worst kind of cold Rey ever had to feel twice.

It wasn’t the kind that’d turn every strand of your hair into an icicle, no, this was the kind that you could feel it in your bones, seeping and grazing your soul into some hallucinatory confinement. And yet this was the kind that Rey knew quite well, something that she vowed to eschew from though even without having to open her eyes, it seemed she knew exactly where in the Hoth had she ended up to.

Opening her eyes, The Finalizer looked just as dim and glum as she remembered. The stark gray walls around her loomed like phantoms in children’s nightmares, the dark floors shone under her before she rested her gaze on the door, closed shut likely to be left unlocked. There was a whit of relief upon realizing that the First Order decided to stash her inside a cell instead of the interrogating chamber like the last time, but at the same time, she felt like fortune’s foe knowing that this was the second time she’d gotten captured.

 _Master Luke won’t be happy about this,_ she brooded with a loud sigh. Sitting up, she decided to try to contact her master via the force but to find both of her hands and feet chained to the walls underneath the cot she sat on. _Oh, boy._ Then as if her situation couldn’t get much worse she felt a massive headache of the century, sending her vision spun as the memories from before ushered in.

The memory re-enacted in her head like watching some old holo-movies back at the base, she remembered flying in the Falcon to Mos Eisley with Finn to help Chewie with his smuggling routine, after having had to convince Luke to give his consent knowing she was still in the midst of training. Everything had gone just according to plan; the deal was sealed and everyone got to walk away with a grin on their face all the way to the cantina, Finn was buying rounds of drinks for the group from his cut. Until they were swarmed by the First Order.  

The memory just stopped reeling there except the panic that flashed on Finn’s face as he quickly tugged her across the crowded place.

Afterward, there was only a surge of pain on the back of her head and a sea of strange faces staring down at her like vultures. Where amongst the crowd, she saw this man.

Her vision tried to make a poor sketch of his face but failed, but as he gravitated closer she took in his deep-set eyes; they were screaming green, she’d noticed, bright and cold like nothing she’d ever seen in anyone before. _The eyes of a villain._ And yet she couldn’t bat away despite for the way he was staring at her. Finally, everything went dark except for a pair of green wisps swimming inside her head back and forth.

Rey brought both of her shackled hands to her head and gingerly caressed where it hurt most, the chain made a dull clink sound as she moved further back. _No wonder it hurt so much._ So, not only the First Order managed to bludgeon her head, but they had to restrain her like a bloody Bloggin! She wondered what kind of atrocity they would do next, no wonder their home felt just as cold as their extreme disposition.

 _I need to get out here,_ Rey proceeded to close her eyes shut and searched for her master’s presence in the force. She thought even if he couldn’t send a rescue party her way, at least he got to know that she was okay. That she would do anything he’d taught her to break free. Alas, she hadn’t even had the chance to make contact with him when she heard muffled footsteps from outside. She froze once she noticed they seemed to cease right in front of her door. The thought of contacting Luke simply flew out of the window.

Rey kept cautious and vigilant with keeping her force remain active. She took a deep breath and distributed her power to sense the presence behind the door. She took in three people; Stormtroopers, none of them were force users much to her relief and their thoughts were pretty easy to read. Except for this impending figure that was approaching the corridor. It was like trying to walk through a dark, severe sandstorm his head was. It was infuriating and she somehow found herself in a quite vulnerable position with this, even Kylo Ren was much easier to penetrate!

Who was this? This person was definitely not a force user, but he was downright impossible!

The door whooshed open just in time Rey withdrew herself from his head, anticipation and a newfound curiosity collaborated. Her eyes widened the first her gaze met his familiar figure.

It was him— the man she’d seen at the cantina, the one with the painfully bright eyes. He was still wearing his same unusual First Order uniform though devoid of the overcoat and hat, giving Rey a full look of what she opined as the brightest shade of copper of a hair.

She also took this moment to observe him; the sharpness of his cheeks, the way his eyebrows arched like he was perpetually annoyed, how kempt and dapper his uniform was even to the way he seemed to be cocksure of himself. With his pale complexion, his striking green eyes and all black-on-black attire, he somehow looked like a walking colour palette set to paint the world with his own malicious hue.

With his cold stare ever present, the man strode inside the cell with imperious steps. He must’ve thought she was an easy prey given her circumstance.

“Leave us,” he commanded to the Stormtroopers on his shadow. They all replied _Yes, sir_ almost in unison before stepping away as he, stepped closer whilst the door closed shut behind him. If she hadn’t feared of him then, she was sure as hell did now.

Especially now knowing who this man really was;

 _General Hux._ Yes, Rey knew him, alright. She’d seen that surly visage before in one of Leia’s archives. And as far as she concerned, the man had been nothing but a major pain in the arse for Leia and the Resistance, and Finn’s worst nightmare to what she deduced from his recollections. She couldn’t be more thankful that Starkiller base had been wiped out to the oblivion, but knowing what he was capable of she somehow could tell the General couldn’t be short of tricks up his sleeves.

And now here he was only a feet away. Rey wondered if God was just simply pissed at her and decided to deprive her chunk of luck instead.

"So you’re that little scavenger Ren has been obsessed about,” his voice, crisp and plummy it somehow accentuated the quality of his superiority. Rey mused if his public persona was as pretentious. “I’d say what a waste of resources and time, but after having to witness your ability first hand maybe that man isn’t as completely daft as I thought.”

Rey tensed and all silent. Her mind working overtime trying to come up with words to reply him, but came up with naught. Instead, her senses took in the presence of her lightsaber— coming directly from him and she quickly transfixed her attention to reaching it.

“Not so fast, girl,” Hux growled. A gloved hand reaching his hip to make sure the weapon stayed fasten to his belt. Rey sighed exasperatedly. Of course, he would notice. “Unless you want another blow in the head, you better quit it. And if you think I will let you let you slip through our fingers again like the last time, you’ve never been more mistaken.”

Rey’s face scrunched, her hazel eyes trained on him in indignation. “Watch me,” she retorted, almost wishing she hadn’t, but if there was anything Luke had taught her fear will only lead you to the dark side. Well, though, he didn’t exactly suggest her to be brash with a First Order General.

“You dare? Do you even know who you’re speaking to?!”

“Yes, I know who you are, _General Hux,_ but I don’t care. Why should I treat a person with _respect_ when he’s never done such?”

His scowl deepened. For someone whose hair colour akin to the sun, she thought he was awfully cold. “You better watch your tongue the next time you speak to me, scum,” he threatened, and Rey could feel her confidence slightly shrinking to the floor. However, she wouldn’t back down.

“Or what? You’ll kill me next?”

He didn’t bother to veil his irritation and if looks could indicate anything, his looked like he could kill her with it. “As much as killing you means one less enemy for us, you’re lucky that is not an option,” Suddenly, he smirked, devilishly. The image was a hard hit for her that she was indeed speaking with someone powerful… and evil. “But maybe someone else can play that role instead for you. Perhaps that Wookie, or maybe…” Hux smirked wider. “FN-2187?”

The color in her face drained upon hearing Finn’s old designation, and the fact he was referring Chewie had her this close from blowing a fuse. It just came to her mind then that she never found out what happened to her friends after she’d gotten captured. Did they manage to escape the cantina in time? If yes, did they leave unscathed? Her internal mind screamed at the thought if they would have to suffer the same fate as she.

Rey jumped to her feet and stomped forward to him, shooting daggers at his way despite the restriction derived from the shackles. She could’ve sworn she saw him staring in schadenfreude. “If you _dare_ to hurt any of them…” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, striving not to let anger clouding her head. She knew better than this. “Where are they?”

“Far enough to know that you are not dead, a hair’s breadth away _if_ I decided to perform the aforementioned,” Hux disclosed. And Rey felt like exhaling the breath she’d been holding.

Although Chewie and Finn were still within the enemy’s grasp, at least it would help Rey slept at night knowing they were hiding somewhere in the galaxy. And Chewie had been playing this chasing game for decades and he was one of the best pilots in the galaxy. She was confident they would find a way to lose the First Order from their tails.

But at this moment, it was only right to obey with whatever he demanded from her before the Order managed to execute every each of her friends.

“Fine, I get the message,” Rey huffed in defeat. “Why am I here then? If you don’t want me dead, then why?”

“Because the Supreme Leader already has an agenda planned for you; you are here to be trained by Ren as his apprentice.”

Her jaw dropped, unhinged from its place. Now, that didn’t cross her mind before.

“WHAT?!” Rey bellowed. This was the reason she was here? So they could arbitrarily mould her into whatever the hell they desire? Like hell, she would abide by this. Being forced to train under Kylo Ren was the same as a death sentence. “No! I will never join the dark side or your cause, no way.”

To her surprise, Hux took a menacing step towards her. Since he was a foot taller standing up to his full height, she had to tilt her head to follow his gaze. “I doubt you’re in the position to negotiate,” he gestured to her shackled limbs. “Besides, until Ren arrives from wherever the devil he’s from, you are _my_ custody. You are in my ship and under my rules, don’t you forget about that. Unless you’d rather die with your friends.”

At the thought of her friends, she nearly cried. Chills ran down her spine, though was it because of his words or the cold milieu surrounding her, she didn’t know.

“Keep my friends out of this, General. And you can’t do this to me, you can’t simply turn me into something I’m not!”

“Watch me,” Hux parrot her own words, his voice low and hostile. And Rey had to use every self-control in her body not to slap that smug smile of his.

“I _won’t_ do it. I know what you did with Starkiller Base, how you annihilated an entire star system. How could you do that?!” Rey snapped, tears shone in her eyes. If she could, she would’ve shoved him hard on the chest. “You cold-hearted monster!”

Rey remembered hearing screams and agony in the force, she’d felt when the heat touched their skins and their bodies burnt to crisps; mothers, fathers, children— each and every one of them dissolved into stardusts. It was one of the first few encounters she had had with the force and she could feel every fiber within her begged for it to stop, to make the disturbance go away. She’d confided the feelings to Luke one time when they were training, crying herself out in the process just imagining the pain which her reserved master told her the sense was both a gift and a curse from the force, something he and his twin have also had encountered all their lives. She wondered how they could cope with such feelings.

Did it ever occur to the man before her how they’d felt when he ordered the damned thing? Did it ever cross his head that the Order was only making things worse instead of providing stability across the galaxy as what they’ve envisioned?

She doubted his mind even stretched that far.

“In case you haven’t noticed, _girl,_ we are on the brink of war. What do you think when your precious Resistance destroyed my base, hmm? Did it ever occur to their feeble heads the casualty figures from their actions?” Hux countered, his head leaned an inch closer just to intimidate her. She thought his eyes were even brighter when he was angry.

Rey fell silent at his inquiries, she was somehow actually taking in his words until realizing her interlocutor was a mass murderer. “No. No, you don’t get to talk like that. Not after what you’ve done. The Resistance is not like you, you can’t possibly paint us with the same brush.”

Hux snorted in pure disdain, as if her remark sounded complete, utterly ridiculous. “Of course not, The Resistance is but a haphazard joke of a movement and a cyst to the universe. To even think that we are equal is absurd.”

“You’re impossible,” Rey shook her head. “You wanted discipline and order yet you incite terror, that’s just incomprehensible.”

“If anyone _is_ incomprehensible, that would be you.” With that, he retracted himself from her and pivoted to his side. He began pacing slowly back and forth with hands clasped behind his back, which Rey thought he looked even more superior from this angle. “Your principal is nonsense. You think liberty is a virtue, but you’re a mere fool. You forget that humans are like birds; bestow them with freedom and they’ll fly aimlessly to no end, but if you cage them, no harm will ever come to no one. They’ll be secured, have a purpose, and they won’t be much as lost.”

“And let me guess, you are planning to be humanity’s sole captor?” Rey hissed, she just couldn’t make heads or tails for his belief. How could someone— anyone would ever find comfort inside a confinement?  

But instead of receiving his usual coarse reply, Hux said nothing. His tracks trailed off and his shoulders deflated, his composure prolapsed into despair though from her standpoint, Rey wasn’t certain. Until she heard it...

_I am my own cage._

Rey, amid all of the hatred she harbored towards this man bulged out her small eyes in disbelief upon hearing him projecting his own thought. Her glare gradually dissipated, whether it was unintentional or vice versa but she found it almost somber and it shook her how sincere he sounded, how raw and forlorn... human. Did he feel restrained underneath that bravado he was displaying? Had any of his action been a mere charade?

Subsequently, she surreptitiously channeling her power and aimed for his head, thinking maybe she could read him further given his state of vulnerability. It was simply out of curiosity, she had no intention to mind trick him or whatsoever but too quickly he batted away even before her attempt was fruitful. She couldn’t hide her disappointment by the evasion.  
  
He was still quiet when their gaze locked once again, looking as if he’d just exposed half of the First Order’s plans to the wind though if only he knew…

Clearing his throat, Hux proceeded to straighten his posture to his usual rigid stance; like a king putting back on his crown. His frown also reappeared at a moment’s notice just as he adjusted the collar of his uniform.

“My point is the Resistance is useless and as long as the Order exists, we will do anything to bring order throughout the galaxy,” his eyes flared fire at her. “So either all of you submit to us or _die.”_

Sighing, Rey looked away, staring at anything but his bright eyes. So that was his grand scheme, then? To confine everyone and draw a line in the sand? If he was so much living in a cage himself why did he do this?

“Back when I was on this planet with Master Luke, I had this pet bird that I named Moe. Luke and I had just finished sparring that day, and I remember seeing the creature flew in into our cave and perched atop the dining table. I was mesmerized, of course. Back in Jakku, there were only birds like Steelpeckers and Vworkkas which I thought were hideous, but Moe, Moe was nothing like I’ve ever seen before,” Rey gave a half-smile at the reminiscent. She still could make out his red and black beak, the vibrant orange of his legs— a vast contrast to the black and white plumage, and even how he tended to chirp very early in the morning, much to Luke’s annoyance. Oh, how she remembered him well.

“I thought I had to keep him. I even went as far as building the cage and fed him with my leftovers, I was very committed to keeping him safe. But with each week, I noticed how he seldom make his usual morning chirp, how less and less he ate, it frustrated me I even conveyed this problem to my master. And do you know what Luke said to me? He said that he had once heard that some birds aren’t meant to be caged. That their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. It was then I realized the error I’ve been doing the whole time. We released Moe just when the sun was about to set, much to my sadness. But deep down I knew it was the right thing to do.”

Now she dared herself to meet his gaze. She was surprised to see that he seemed to be listening intently, probably trying to deduce where she was taking the conversation. “Can’t you see? You say a cage is a solution for the chaos of the human behavior, but has it ever resolved anything? What about the ones like Moe who aren’t meant for such?” her gaze softened all of a sudden. “What about you?”

Hux stood still with lips parted, there was a few moment when Rey thought that complex head of his must have been mulling how she could obtain her ace in the hole, but as soon as bewilderment washed over his visage, as soon as it slipped away. Yes, she might have gone too far but she couldn’t help it.

“What did you say you to me?” Hux gnashed his teeth, something that she guessed as a defense mechanism to hide his embarrassment and chagrin. Hide behind his façade if he wanted, but Rey could see the trouble in his eyes in any day.

Rey fidgeted her chained hands restlessly. "I heard your thoughts,” the girl admitted. “I didn’t mean to, but you were literally projecting it and--”

“And what? You had the cheek to use that against me? To _judge_ me?" 

“No, no, I’m not judging you.” Yet despite his wrath, she somehow decided to take a different approach instead. Maybe her concussion was more serious than she thought, but according to her, it was the right thing to do at the moment. “If anything, I just want to tell you that even you don’t deserve it, living in a cage. No one does,” she reciprocated with voice small, and Hux’s rage faded.  

Without uttering another word, the General inched closer towards the Padawan. He was agonizingly close that his austere feature was only a breath away from her. Rey, feeling bold, mimicking his own movement with gaze tightly locked to his, lips parted and somehow, she felt the tension in the room altered into something wholly different.

“You don’t know me,” he muttered in her face, but not unkindly-- in fact, it was far from it.

Rey swallowed hard when her nostrils took in his scent; immaculate with a hint of aftershave followed after. It would be a big, fat lie if she said he didn’t smell good.

Her pulse was thumping furiously in her ears she could hardly hear the soft hum of the ship’s engine anymore. The back of her head kept screaming to back away, but her whole body wouldn’t cooperate-- it almost felt like when Kylo Ren had held her down, it made her head in such a spin. She couldn’t help but wonder if his was in too.

“Maybe not yet,” Rey replied, not missing a beat. She thought she saw him flinched.

She noticed how his jaw tensing, his dark pupils starting to take over his green ones, his breath, warm and harsh, ghosting over her own face and her lips quivered. Though still, whether if it was because of him or the cold cell she had no damn clue. As her gaze trailed down to his lips, his tongue was slightly flicking over his full lips. Whatever it meant, she knew she was crossing a very dangerous line here.

After what it felt like an eternity, Hux eventually lowered his gaze. His cheeks and ears were the color of a beet. He slowly withdrew himself and gone was the warmth of his breath, leaving gooseflesh in her wake.

Rey watched him as he turned his boots and headed for the door, head bowed down as if one had fallen deep into his own train of thought. She on the other hand, still couldn’t take the tremor from her lips. Her feelings were confounded.

Suddenly, his movement ceased, his hand hovering on the door panel. He looked over his shoulder but did not meet her gaze, as if he was afraid to suffer under it.

“Ren shall arrive in three days time. Until then, I suggest you re-think your decisions before it’s too late.” His eyes met her this time, they eyes were as cold but held a subtly different tone. For the first time, it surprised her how placid he looked. He somehow looked like a completely different person. “Be careful, Rey. You don’t want to interfere with Supreme Leader’s plans.”

She forced herself to nod, her mind hadn’t really taken in half of his words but she didn't want to complicate things further. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Three of his Stormtroopers marched in time to greet him as the cell door opened. With still maintaining their eye contact, Rey nearly leaped out her skin when she heard him barked,

“Guards! Give the prisoner some spare blankets and a warm meal right away. She’s the Supreme Leader’s prisoner, if anyone touches even a hair on her head they’ll have to answer directly to me, understand?”

“Yes, General Hux,” his soldiers, once again, replied in sync. Rey frowned knowing that underneath those pristine armors, they were just as human as anyone else… albeit caged. Just like their own General was.

“Good.” With that, Hux waltzed out of the cell, his Stormtroopers followed suit. Not once he glanced over her as he left.

As the door clicked shut behind him, Rey fell limp to the cot. She’d just noticed that the cell felt somewhat colder after he was gone.

And she didn’t want to know why.

**Author's Note:**

> Yep, that "Some birds are not meant to be caged..." was Stephen King's quote, alright. I thought it was fitting, and hey, I have this strange canon that Luke somehow likes to read literature and shit.


End file.
